UFC legend advocates ‘GOAT’ belt suggesting Tom Aspinall inherits Jon Jones’ title during latter’s injury-driven hiatus

Reverberating the most recent idea, veteran Daniel Cormier suggests that Tom Aspinall be crowned true active heavyweight, in absence of Jon Jones.

UFC legend advocates ‘GOAT’ belt suggesting Tom Aspinall inherits Jon Jones’ title during latter’s injury-driven hiatus

Daniel Cormier wants Tom Aspinall to inherit Jon Jones' heavyweight title (Source: Twitter)

Heavyweight champion Jon Jones was to make his title defense against Stipe Miocic in the UFC 295 headlining event. But he had to withdraw due to a pectoral tear. Correspondingly, Tom Aspinall was clipped in as a choice for a heavyweight interim bout with Sergei Pavlovich; which he won. Aspinall executed a spectacular 69-second KO that won him the interim title.

Since then, fans and peers have remained torn by Jones’ injured status, and Aspinall as the current active champion. Aspinall himself had chimed in on the matter. Now, UFC veteran Daniel Cormier has suggested that he inherit the heavyweight title as well.

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A circulating topic after the win, first delved on by Chael Sonnen was that with Jones returning as the ‘true’ heavyweight champion, things would change. Tom Aspinall‘s ‘interim’ status would be moot then. Hence, Aspinall had called for a fight with Jones, or for him to be stripped. Now, talking with The MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani, Cormier has mentioned:

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If Jones and Stipe are only going to fight each other, you cannot have Tom Aspinall defend the interim championship, Jones and Stipe don’t need the title to be on the line. They can just fight, and that’s enough. Call it for ‘The Greatest of All Time.’ It doesn’t matter. Create a belt. Tom Aspinall is the guy who’s going to lead the heavyweight division for years to come.

Aspinall himself shared the sentiment too. He had requested to relieve Jones of his title in his absence, as is the mandate during an injury. CEO Dana White has however been firm on the booking of Jones vs. Miocic, once the heavyweight recovers. Aspinall has expressed on being the undisputed champion and making his title defense against Miocic in the meantime.

The optimal recovery timetable for a mass pectoral separation puts it at bout 7-8 months. Jones however got surgery soon after the injury, which puts him a little ahead of the curve. There is no official update on his return yet.

Tom Aspinall retorts on fan backlash for wanting to strip Jon Jones of belt

At UFC 295, Tom Aspinall defeated Sergei Pavlovich with an astounding first-round knockout. With his recent interim title win, Aspinall made some bold comments, saying Jones should be stripped while recovering from sustained injury. He further presented the scenario of a fight against Stipe Miocic while being crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion.

Tom Aspinall replies back to trolls, on wanting to have Jon Jones stripped, after UFC 295 win
Tom Aspinall replies to trolls, on wanting to have Jon Jones stripped, after UFC 295 win (Source: Twitter)

This sentiment has drawn a lot of backlash from fans of the sport. As such, Aspinall faced the wrath of some fans on social media for putting forth such an idea. A lot of fans and peers have agreed with him, wanting to grant him the ‘active’ heavyweight status for now; others – not so much. A lot of fans do not like the idea of him facing Miocic just yet, with Jones out of action.

Aspinall said that he has yet to hear back from the UFC in terms of what their plans are for him. Asked if he thinks he’ll fight either Jones or Miocic before retirement, Aspinall was unsure. The fighter remains on the sideline with the heavyweight title out of the play.

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